The BICEP2 Results and What They Mean: The First Observation of Gravitational Waves from the Early Universe

FREE Admission!

On March 17, 2014, the BICEP2 collaboration, using results from a telescope at the South Pole, announced the
observation of swirls in the polarization of the cosmic microwave background radiation that we believe were caused
by gravitational waves in the early universe. These gravitational waves have been described as the smoking-gun
evidence for cosmological inflation. According to the New York Times, if corroborated, this work "will stand as a
landmark in science comparable to the recent discovery of dark energy pushing the universe apart, or of the Big
Bang itself." The speakers at this event will discuss the results of BICEP2, and the background for understanding
the results and their implications.